Peace of mind
by Spah
Summary: Discontinued. Check out the revamp, instead. After Irving Eisenhertz and his sister Sophia are orphaned because of team rocket, They move to Sinnoh and try to start a new life. The first few chapters' writing is a little rough as I was getting used to finding my own style, but the quality of writing is more consistant now.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

Saying good-bye to his home was one of the most painful things Irving Eisenherz ever had to do. For 10 years, He had lived with his younger sister, Sophia, in a nice house in the middle of Vermilion City. He had fond memories of when he lived peacefully in the middle of this busy port city. Now, he would never see his home again because he was with his sister on a boat headed directly to the Sinnoh region.

This boat was a passenger ship called the S. S. Maria, a luxury liner the travelled all over the known world. However, This boat had been modified to hold a great number of war refugees escaping from Kanto. The ship's theater had been gutted and replaced with space to hold people and the ballroom was converted into an auxiliary sleeping room. They had to make these changes due to the sheer number of people fleeing Kanto. Many had lost their homes and sometimes, their families.

Irving was one of those unfortunate persons who had lost both their home and part of their family. What was his house was now a smoldering crater with pieces of wood and metal pipe sticking out of the ground; his parent were just charred remains plastering this "house". Like many others about this ship, Irving had lost his normal civilian life to the constant fighting in Vermillion city. Now all he had left was his sister, her Psyduck, and a Togepi egg that he cradled in his arms.

That Togepi egg was a gift for his tenth birthday from his father. His father, who was a Pokémon researcher, decided that Irving was old enough to take care of this new Pokémon. Irving awaited the day that the egg hatched so that he could have his very first Pokémon. But until then, Irving was content with cradling the warm egg in his arms.

"Irving, when is the boat leaving?" Sophia said after gently grabbing Irving's arm.

"I don't know, Sophia. The Captain said that he would use the speaker system to tell everyone when everything is ready."

"I don't want the boat to leave." Said Sophia sullenly. " I don't want to leave home."

She then took her Psyduck and held it as if she were holding on to what remained of home. Irving understood this feeling; It was painful for him too to have to abandon his old life. Psyduck was technically the family's Pokémon, he was special to Sophia because they were the same age and grew up together. She had cared for Psyduck for many of the eight years she was alive, so Irving let Sophia have Psyduck as her own pokemon. For Sophia, Psyduck was the one thing, besides Irving himself, that she had from her old life. Irivng's thinking was interrupted by the speaker system.

"To all passengers, we are now setting sail for Canalave City"

Upon hearing this, Sophia ran over to the ship's railing to look at Vermilion city.

"Irving, they're going! I don't want them to go! I want to go home! Back to Mommy and Daddy!" Sophia yelled with tears forming in her eyes.

"Why do we have to go! It's not fair! It's not fair! It's...*sniff*...*sniff*.

Sophia's tearful yelling broke down into sobbing as he misery poured forth. Unable to say goodbye to his home, Irving hugged Sophia tight and cried with her.

Eventually, Irving and Sophia both stopped crying. By that time, Vermillion city was a small object on the horizon. Having cried their tear ducts drying, Irving and Sophia went to go get some dinner in one of the dining rooms. This room was filled with tables covered in fancy cloth and vases of flowers. Because it was almost dinner time, the room was filled with cooks as well as passengers of all ages. The cooks were dishing out meat and potatoes buffet-style, so Irving and Sophia got in line and acquired food for themselves as well as Psyduck. They then sat at one of the tables and started eating in the hopes that filling their stomachs would also fill the holes in their hearts where their old life had been.

While they were both eating, an older man with brown and grey hair came over to their table.

"Do you mind if I sit here?" the man asked. Irving shook his head and the man sat down to eat with them.

"Kids like you shouldn't be alone on this ship. Are your parents somewhere on this ship?"

Sophia started tearing up again and Irving shifted his gaze away from the man.

"We lost our parents and house in the bombing"

"Oh, I'm sorry. You have my condolences." said the man in a very apologetic manner. After a short silence, Irving spoke.

"Why is there all of this fighting going on. We didn't do anything."

"All of this fighting is because of Team Rocket, a terrorist organization dedicated to over throwing Kanto's government and ruling Kanto themselves. They've amassed a pretty strong army that our own police forces have been clashing with."

"I Hate them. They're bad people. They took away Mommy and Daddy! When I'm older and stronger, I swear that I'm going to defeat them!"

Sophia spoke up. "Yeah! I'm going to beat them, too, Irving! We both going to beat them for Mommy and Daddy!"

It had been a couple days since the S. S. Maria had set sail for Canalave City. Canalave city was a large port city like Vermilion. Canalave resided on the most western part of Sinnoh and was flanked by a large river to the east, Lake Verity to the south, and a thick forest to the west.

When Irving saw Canalave for the first time, the first thing he noticed was the giant draw bridge at the north end of the city. He watched it rise and fall as the S. S. Maria passed under it into the city harbor. He looked at this great feat of engineering in awe.

"Attention all passengers, we are now disembarking into Canalave city."

As Irving and Sophia got off the ship, Irving looked around at his surroundings. It was mostly ports and ships with buildings near the docks. It reminded him of Vermilion city; just different. That's what was so off putting about Canalave city; it could never replace Vermilion city. At that moment, Irving's resolve was great; he would rescue Vermilion and he would destroy Team Rocket


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Just like all the other passengers, Irving and Sophia were relocated to a temporary refugee camp until they could be assign permanent accommodations. The Camp was made up of tents and other sorts of improved housing. There were hundreds of men, women, and children walking around trying to obtain food and shelter. The sheer amount of noise all of these people generated was grating. The relatively small camp was jam packed with people; It would be very easy to lose Sophia in a crowd of this size and density. Leading her by the hand, Irving took Sophia to a booth where local government workers were assigning shelter. The booth had a long line in front it due to the sheer number of dislocated people. Nevertheless, Irving got in line with Sofia.

"Brother." Said Sophia "I don't like this place. There are too many people. It's scary"

"Don't worry, Sophia. We'll be out of this crowd in a little bit and then, I can get us some food. Does that sound good?"

Sophia nodded silently and gripped Irving tighter. Normally, being in a crowd of this size would have scared Irving as much as it scared Sophia, but he couldn't find himself to care. Irving scanned the area around the camp, hoping to look for some food to get after acquiring shelter. His eyes darted from area to area, person to person. Suddenly something caught his eye. That hair color, that build! He'd recognized those things anywhere. Mother!

Alas, this woman turned towards him, revealing her face. She wasn't mother; she was just another refuge. But for a second, Irving was sure that she was mom. She had the same dark blond hair that both mother and Irving shared. She had the same tall, slender frame. Irving shook his head and tried to focus on finding food. After scanning a little more, Irving was finally able to locate a bread line. Hopefully, he and Sophia would be able to get some bread before it all-

"Brother."

Irving suddenly snapped back into focus as he heard this word. Startled, he turned his head to find Sophia looking at him.

"Brother, move. It's our turn to talk at the booth." she said.

Having regained his composure, Irving walked up to the booth and talked to the official running it.

"Excuse me, mister. Could I get a tent for my sister and I."

"Where are your parents? Shouldn't they be getting a tent with you?" replied the official

Hearing this made Irving flinch, but he collected himself.

" No, sir. My Parents are... they're... they're..." Irving started sniffling and found himself all choked up.

"Oh, you lost your parents. I'm so sorry for you." he said

"There's a house over that way that's for Orphans like you." he said, pointing to an old wooden building in the distance.

Irving grabbed Sophia and quickly walked away from the booth. The shelter was for Orphans. Orphans like him. He and Sophia were Orphans. Mom and Dad were dead, and nothing could changed that. Irving silently walked to the house, holding Sophia in one hand and the Togepi egg in the other. As they got closer, Irving was able to get a closer look at the building. It wasn't just old; it was in great disrepair. much of the paint had flaked off, leaving the building to be covered in isolated blotches of paint. most of the windows were boarded up or broken and the walls were cracked in some areas. The appearance of this building unnerved Irving and Sophia. He had to go in to get food and shelter, so Irving swallowed his fear and walked inside.

The inside of the house was just as bad as the outside. The house was dirty and filled with too many children and not enough adults. There was a cacophony the filled the house as the few adults scrambled to take care of the noisy children. One such adult, a woman in her 40's, approached Irving and Sophia.

"Hello, dears. Did you come here for food?" she asked. Irving and Sophia both nodded.

"Well, I'll try to scrounge something up. In the meanwhile, why don't you go and meet some of the other kids?" Said the woman who then walked off towards the pantry. Sophia, following the woman's advice, went over to a group of girls her age and started playing with them. Irving looked around to find some boys to play with. There were a bunch of 6-and-7-year-olds playing with a ball and a group of teenagers who seemed to be doing some sort of club initiation for a boy Irving's age. Other than those people, the rest of the children were girls, who Irving tended not to associate with. Irving decided to leave his sister with those girls and went outside. He was too tired to play because of the sheer stress that the day's events had brought him.

Irving sat down on the front steps and hugged the Togepi egg tight. The egg brought a feeling of warmth and familiarity that Irving desperately needed. The white with red & blue triangle-covered egg was the one piece of memorabilia that he had brought with him to Sinnoh. Worn out from the day's events, Irving closed his eyes and let Togepi's warmth soothe him.

" I was wondering where you had gone." Irving heard. He turned around to see the woman from before.

"I brought you some food." she said. " Don't worry. I got some for your sister, too."

"Thank you, miss." Irving said as he started eating

"Don't worry about it. It's my pleasure."

"Didn't look like you were enjoying work before."

The woman sighed. "It's not that I don't like the work; it's just that it is very stressful at the moment. The ship that just came in brought a great number of refugees. The number of kids here doubled after it arrived. It's hard to take care of all of you kids with the small number of volunteers we have."

"I know what you mean. I have to take care of my little sister as well as this Pokémon egg." Irving said while pointing to the egg in his lap. "just getting by has worn me out."

"I was wondering what that was you were carrying around; what kind of Pokémon is in the egg?"

"A Togepi. It's is a rare Pokémon that is said to be very friendly and is supposed to bring happiness."

"Oh, really? We'll I hope that it does."

"Thank you."

"I have to tend to the other kids at the moment. If you get tired, you can sleep upstairs. I had a good time talking to you." the woman said with a smile as she got up and left.

Irving sat quietly outside, just staring into the distance. The crowds of people died down as people went to their tents to sleep. The once onerous noise had been reduced to a nothing except the quiet sounds of nature. Had he more energy, he would have been bored, but instead Irving felt a strange feeling of contentment. The quiet, the starlight, and Togepi's warmth all combined to form this foreign sensation in Irving. For the first time since the death of his parents, he was happy.

This feeling was disturbed when Irving heard a cracking noise. He felt small chips fall onto his clothes as he looked at the egg. Togepi was hatching right in front of his eyes! The shell chipped away to reveal a young white pokemon. The Togepi smiled and chirped at Irving. Irving could do nothing but return the smile.

"Will you Bring me happiness, Togepi?"


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Irving rustled back and forth as a light shone on his closed eyes. Stimulated by the brightness, he gradually opened his eyes, letting them get adjusted to the morning sun. Irving found himself to be under the covers of a small bed in a small room. Shifting to get up, Irving saw another bed in the room that was untouched by the sunlight. Under its covers was Sophia, sound asleep. The Covers were drawn up so that all Irving could see of her was her tender face and the two braided long pigtails coming from her blue hair. Glad to see that Sophia had slept soundly through the night, Irving quietly left the room to get some breakfast.

Entering the kitchen from the stairs, Irving could tell he had slept in late. Just about all of the kids were already out and about. The shelter workers were finishing up cooking and were beginning to clean up. The female worker whom Irving had talked with noticed his entrance and greeted him.

"Good morning, sleepy head. Didn't think you'd be up by now. Thought you would have slept 'til 10, at least." Irving shrugged his shoulders.

"After you came in, you hit the bed like a rock. Yesterday must have been absolutely exhausting for you. It's good that you got that much rest because you really needed it." said the woman. Before Irving could responded, his stomach did.

"Oh, you must be hungry. I'll whip something up for you and your sister when she comes down."

"Thank you, miss." Irving responded "Could you also get some food for my togepi? He just hatched last night; He doesn't eat much."

"Don't forget psyduck! He needs food, too."

Irving turned his head towards the staircase and saw Sophia. While her hair and clothes were disheveled, Sophia's face showed that she was wide awake; her long time asleep had clearly done wonders for her.

"Oh, good morning, Sophia."

"Morning, Irving."

"Good morning, dear." the woman greeted "I make some food for both of your pokemon, but why don't you sit down and I get your breakfast ready."

"Okay." Irving and Sophia said as they sat down at one of the tables in the kitchen. The worker started cooking pancakes for the pair.

"You slept in late Sophia. Were you tired?"

"Yes. Yesterday wore me out." said Sophia. "But I got up only 5 minutes before you did."

"Yeah, I guess I was just exhausted from trying to take care of the both of us yesterday."

"I'm glad that we were able to get beds, though."

"You looked really comfortable in your bed." Irving said. "I'm just happy that we could get some food."

"Speaking of food, here are your pancakes." The woman said, placing plates of pancakes in front of Irving and Sophia. The two siblings eagerly devoured the food in front of them. The food wasn't the best, but Irving was happy nonetheless.

"Excuse me, miss." Irving said while finishing off the last bites of food "I was wondering, what's going to happen to us now that we've been sent here to the shelter?"

"That's a good question. Until we can get some families to start adopting these kids, I'm afraid that you all will be living here for a while. However, when school starts up again, which should be soon, you both will be attending one of Canalave's public schools."

"Ah, man. School?" Irving complained.

"Don't Worry, Irving! School is fun and we'll get to make lots of new friends!" Sophia reassured him.

"School is such a drag. It's a lot of work and I already know everything that they teach. I don't see why I have to go."

"You'll definitely learn lots of things at school." The woman said "Besides, your sister is right. You'll meet lots of friends; I'm sure of it."

"Whatever. I guess I'll have to go either way."

"That's right. So you might as well not complain about it." The woman responded "If you'll excuse me, I have to tend to the others children."

"Oh that's okay, Lady. I want to go outside and play, anyway." Sophia said.

"Since you'll be with us for a while, I'll tell you my name. It's Beth." She said, walking out of the room.

**Line Break**

After the Eisenherz siblings finished eating and fed their pokemon, they both went outside at Sophia's request. Sophia always had loved going outside. She would often go out with her family and Psyduck to explore or play. Back in Vermillion city, there wasn't much wilderness to explore, but their parents would take Sophia and Irving out to parks and forests on the City outskirts. Irving would usually bring a book to read, but sometimes Sophia would drag him along with her. Sophia would walk with her family and observe nature, sniffing the flowers and curiously watching pokemon go about their day to day activites.

Much to his distaste, Irving was no longer in Vermillion City, so the two of them would have to find a new place to play. While there was plenty of forest outside of Canalave, Irving knew that he couldn't go too far away from the shelter without supervision. Therefore, he would have to look for another place to play. Irving decided against playing in the refugee camp; He knew that Sophia could easily get lost among all the people, not to mention the fact that they're all strangers. Irving also wanted to avoid the dockyards and the dense urban areas for this reason.

The problem was that Canalave was a very industrialized City. Vermillion City naturally transitioned from City to forest, but by design Canalave was segregated from nature. Most of the city was either taken up by the shipyards or by the industrial sector, both of which were devoid of the sort of forest area which Sophia loved to play in. The rest of the city was made up of small houses and buisnesses and apartment complexes. Simply put, Canalave was a bad fit for Sophia's personality.

One potential area did reveal itself to Irving while he was walking around the north part of the shipyards. The concrete walls that connected the docks eventually merged with a beach on the ocean. The Beach itself wasn't more than a 10-minute walk away from the Shelter, and seeing that there weren't any other real alternatives, Irving convinced Sophia to give it a chance. Although apprehensive at first, Sophia decided to tryout the beach and was soon playing in the water with her psyduck. Wanting to have some private time with his pokemon, Irving released Togepi. Irving sat down on top of one of the sand dunes, holding Togepi in his arms. He silently sat there as the pair of them watched Sophia play in the water.

Out of all his memories, the ones the recalled most fondly were those spend in silent reflection. While most kids his age were playing ball and tag, Irving sat alone, contemplating life and the universe. Perhaps, that was why Irving had no real friends to speak of. Sophia, on the other hand, was a social butterfree, unconditionally friendly and inclusive. Irving was happy that Sophia was socially sucessful; she always earned the praise and kindness of others because of it. If anything, Irving didn't feel the need to have friends of his own because he vicariously enjoyed Sophia's friendships. Watching Sophia enjoying herself was something that always brought Irving joy. Besides, Irving and Sophia were homeschooled and one doesn't make too many friends being homeschooled. So instead, Irving spent most of his time reading in his room, studying, or doting on his sister.

Sophia herself was still playing on the beach with Psyduck. Both of them were happily splashing each other with water. After one particularly strong hit, Psyduck lost its balance and fell onto the wet sand.

"Psyduck, oh no! Did I hurt you?" Sophia worriedly said "I'm so sorry. Here, let me help you."

"Whew, you're okay." Sophia said as she looked Psyduck over "But you're all dirty! Hold still while I clean you off."

After Sophia had finished removing the wet sand, Psyduck gave the water a hard smack. Sophia yelped in suprise as the water splashed up against her. She, in turn, retaliated with a splash of her own.

"It looks like they're having alotta fun."

Irving turned to his left to find a boy of the same age crouched down on the beach facing him.

"Is she your sister or something?"

Still caught off guard, all Irving could do is blink in response.

"Oh, I'm sorry. I haven't introduced myself. My name is Guy."

Irving shook his head to recover and then responded.

"My name's Irving and that is my sister, Sophia." Irving said while pointing.

"Oh, so she is." Guy responded "Do you two come here often?"

"This is my first time here. Sophia likes to play outside so I figured I would find her a new play place."

"I was wondering why I hadn't seen you guys before. I'm here almost every day. Especially over the summer." Guy responded "So you two came here for a new place, huh. Why? Was your old place getting boring or something?"

"Our old place is in Vermillion City."

"Oh, so you just moved here."

"Yeah."

"Where do you guys live?"

"Just a bit south of here."

"Well, congrats on moving here."

"We're not too happy to be here."

"Why? Don't you like this city?"

"I like the city just fine. It's a little too industrialized for Sophia's taste, but I'm okay with it." Irving said "It's just that we were forced to move here and we weren't given much notice. This is just our second day so the City is still very foreign to us."

"In that case, I'll give you a tour! I've lived here all my life, so I know this place better than anyone."

"Maybe tomorrow, It's getting late and I should get going."

"Okay, cool."

"First, I want you to meet my sister." Irving said "Sophia! Come here!"

"What?" she replied

"Come here! There's someone I want you to meet."

"Okay!" she yelled back as she ran up the beach.

"Sophia." Irving said when she got there. "This is Guy. He lives here."

"Hi there!" Sophia said.

"Hi, nice to meet you."

"Good. Now that we're all introduced, we should get going." Irving said.

"What? I wanted to play longer!" Sophia complained.

"It's getting late, Sophia. We should get going." Irving said "So go get Psyduck so we can leave."

"Fine." Sophia gave in. She ran down to the shore and retrieved Psyduck.

"All right, let's go." Irving said

"Umm, Irving. I'm still willing to take you around Canalave." Guy said

"Sounds good. How about we do that tomorrow?" Irving said

"Okay, seeya."

"Bye." Irving and Sophia said, walking back towards the Shelter. Tomorrow would be a good day.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

Irving made sure to get up early in the morning along with his sister, which he hadn't done the previous day. The previous morning, Irving slept in late because he was tired, but Irving couldn't afford to be tired today; he had an appointment with an acquaintance from the previous day. After a quick breakfast, Irving and Sophia headed out to the beach where they had met Guy. Arriving at 10:00, they noticed Guy sitting down on one of the sand dunes, lazily drawing lines into the sand. Noticing their arrival, Guy turned and smiled at the siblings and ran over to them.

"You came! Awesome!" he yelled as he approached.

"Oh hello, Guy!" Sophia replied.

"Good morning." Irving responded curtly.

"This is perfect" Guy said "I'm so glad that you all came!"

"Well, it's not like we have anything better to do." Irving responded.

"Don't be so rude, Irving!" said Sophia "We're happy to go with you."

"Follow me! I'll take you to all of my favorite places in the City!" Guy said while walking away from the beach.

"I'll take you to the shipyards first since they're near the beach." Guy and Sophia ran off as Irving tailed them from a short distance. As they walked, the pair of them made chit-chat as Irving listened from behind. Sophia mostly just talked about the forest that she played in outside Vermillion city. From what he heard, Irving inferred that Guy didn't play much in the forest. This didn't surprise Irving in the slightest considering the environment that Guy had to live in. The only plant life that Irving saw was the grass growing through the cracks of the ground and the occasional potted plant growing next to a house. The lack of plant life growing in Canalave made Irving like it even less.

"Here we are!" Guy announced, motioning to a large arrangement of docks and ships.

"Wow! Look at all the boats, Irving!" Sophia yelled as she marveled at the sheer number of ships present. There was a multitude of sailboats, all with colorful sails that when combined formed a giant sea of colored fabric. There were a few luxury cruisers, but by far the most prevalent ship was the cargo ship. Boxes upon crates were stacked on these metal behemoths, coming in and out of the city. Guy pointed to one of the ships.

"My father works on that ship! He's a sailor. He's been all over the world!" Guy said.

"Where has he been?" Sophia asked.

"He's been to just about every major port city. When he travels, he always brings back cool stuff!"

"Is he gone for long?" Irving asked.

"He's usually away for weeks at a time." Guy replied, his enthusiasm tempered. "I don't get to see him as much as I'd like."

"You must miss him." Irving said.

"Yeah. I do."

"It sucks when your parents are gone." Irving said

"Yeah." The three of them all avoided eye contact and instead stared at the ground. Irving now regretted his choice of words. Guy doesn't get to see his father much and Sophia and him had just lost their own parents. Sophia probably was on the verge of tears, and well, so was Irving. Losing one's parents is tough and it didn't help that the 10-year-old Irving had to now take care of his sister.

"Well, do you guys want to visit some other places?" Guy inquired. Sophia perked right up when she heard this, much to Irving's relief, as the tension was very uncomfortable.

"Yeah! Let's go, Irving!" Sophia said.

"Lead the way." Irving said.

**Linebreak**

After visiting the shipyards, The three children walked north, toward the less industrialized section of the city. In there was much of the housing, along with small stores and government buildings. But Guy wasn't there for any of those buildings. Instead, The three of them walked to a three-story wooden building. The building was very old, but despite its age, seemed well-kept and wasn't decaying. At the entrance of the building was sign that said "Canalave Library".

"This is it." Guy Said "This is the Canalave Library. When dad's not around, I spend a lot of my time here."

"Wow. What a big building." Sophia marveled.

"Well, let's go inside." Guy said.

The Trio walked inside and was instantly greeted by the librarian.

"Why hello, Guy! How are you doing today?" She said.

"Okay. I'm just showing my friends around the city."

"Oh, hello, you two. I'm mrs. Anderson. What are your names?"

"I'm Sophia!

"I'm Irving. Nice to meet you two."

"I'm just showing them around the city because they're from out of town." Guy said.

"Oh, did you two just move here? Do you like it here?" Mrs. Anderson said

"It's okay, but Sophia and I miss our homes a lot." Irving said. Sophia nodded in agreement

"Oh, that's too bad. Well, feel free to ask me for anything. Why don't you look around the library; there are plenty of books so I'm sure you'll find one you like." Mrs. Anderson said.

"We will. Thank you." Irving said. The Three of them ventured into the library. The first floor was the children's section. Lots of picture books and easy reads lined the walls. There were children all over, some with their parents, some left to read while their parents were upstairs. Sophia ran over to one of the walls and started looking for books. While Sophia was doing this, Guy turned to Irving and asked him a question.

"Do you wanna go upstairs and check out those sections?"

"Sure." Irving said. "Hey, Sophia. Guy and I are going upstairs, okay."

Sophia was sitting at a table, engrossed in a book titled "The beauty of nature: grass pokemon in their habitats". She nodded without looking away from the pages. Accepting this answer, Guy and Irving walked upstairs. The second floor of the building was filled with fiction for both adults and teens and therefore, was populated by people of those ages.

"You like reading teen fiction?" Guy asked. Irving shook his head.

"Some of its good, but I'm not really into that kind of fiction." He responded.

"That's okay. The really cool stuff is upstairs."

"What stuff?"

"You'll see." Said Guy. The two of them made their way up to the third floor. Much like the 1st and 2nd floors, the third floor was filled with bookshelves. However, these books were much thicker than the ones on those floors. Many of them were hundreds, sometimes thousands of pages long.

"So this is the reference section, right?" Irving asked.

"Yeah, that and non-fiction."Guy confirmed.

"So what's all the cool stuff that you wanted to show me?"

"It's back here. Let me show you."

Guy and Irving walked to far end of the third floor. There Irving saw a glass case with all sorts of artifacts in it. There were slabs with an old script carved into them and a few old tomes written in a different, but still old language.

"Pretty cool, huh?" Guy said. Irving nodded. "Whenever I come here, I always see this display. I've tried to read up on this stuff, but a lot of the books are too hard for me to read."

"yeah."

"But it's okay; I can always understand a little more each time I read it. I figure, by the time I'm finished, I'll be an expert on this stuff."

"Cool." Replied Irving. "I've always been more interested in battling, myself. I like to read about the pokemon league and how to be a trainer."

"I some time read stuff about battling; my dad battled with the sailors on his ship and with people at different port cities." Said Guy "So, how about we get some books and sit down somewhere?"

"Sounds good." Replied Irving "I'm gonna get a newspaper to read, so I'll be right back."

"You read the newspaper?"

"Occasionally, but there's something specific I want to read."

"Okay."

Irving made his way downstairs to the first floor, where there was a newspaper rack holding copies of the Canalave Times. After he got his newspaper, he went to ask Sophia if she wanted to go upstairs with him. Unsurprising to Irving, she was chatting with another girl her age, so he decided not to ask. Irving made his way upstairs and sat down with Guy, who was looking at an atlas.

"You into geography?" Irving asked

"Yeah. I like looking at the maps and seeing where my father's been."

"Cool."

Irving unfolded his newspaper and started scanning it. Eventually Irving found what he was looking for, the international news section. At the bottom of the front page was a blurb, "_Fighting in Kanto reaches its peak as battle for Vermillion continues_." At last, news on his hometown, and it wasn't good at all. Discouraged, Irving continued reading anyway.

_Vermillion City- Fighting escalates as Team Rocket forces engage Kanto police forces in Northern Vermillion in the Napierville suburbs. What started as Routine patrol turned into a pitched battle when Rocket forces ambushed a police squad and forced them back to the Napierville police stations. four other police squads eventually responded to this and forced the Rockets to withdraw. In the Ensuing fighting, one policeman was killed and several were wounded. It is unknown how many casualties the Rocket's had, but estimates say that they were similar to those suffered by the police forces. A few nearby houses were damaged or destroyed and the station itself was heavily damaged. Napierville Police chief Robert Williamson was not available for commenting._

Irving trembled as he finished reading the article. Napierville was only a mile or so east of where he used to live. His home had been destroyed and his parents were killed by the fighting; and now it was just getting worse. Irving set down the paper and stared downward, leaning on the table with one arm.

"You okay, Irving?" Guy asked. Irving didn't reply, but instead passed the newspaper to Guy while trying not to choke up. Guy found the article reading it for a minute before speaking again.

"That's where you're from isn't it?" Irving nodded while his eyes teared up "Geez, I'm sorry. That sucks."

Irving laid his head and arms on the table and cried into the table. Guy tried to read, but he found the task to be much harder than before. Once Irving's sorrow lessened, Guy spoke up.

"You know, if you need anything, uhm, I'm here." Irving's eyes opened up. He slowly lifted his head and stared at Guy. Guy looked Irving right in the eyes. After a second of this, Irving teared up again.

"Thank you. Thank you!" Irving said, covering his face with his right hand. Once again, Irving cried a little before talking again.

"That's why we moved here, you know." Guy's ears perked up. "It was because of Team Rocket."

"They scared you're parents into moving here?"

"They killed my parents! They killed them in cold blood!" Guy was startled by this revelation and more so by Irving's tone of voice. Guy checked if anyone could hear them, but the top floor was empty at the moment.

"I came home from school one day and there was a crater where my house was supposed to be. I searched the rubble and in there were the burnt body's of my parents. Sophia usually returned home from school earlier from school than I did, but she was late that day. I'm so thankful that she was; she's all I have left, you know, along with my togepi and her psyduck."

"What brought you to Canalave City?"

"Evacuation. The Vermillion city government decided to ship out people to other cities. That's how bad the situation is there. You read the article; the violence is getting worse and worse. My hometown's gonna be nothing but a battlefield if someone doesn't get these Rocket's out fast!"

Irving slammed his fist on the table. Irving's tearful mourning had turned into a steely resolve.

"You know what, Guy?" Irving said in a decisive voice. "I'm not gonna sit here, doing nothing!" I'm gonna join the police, or the military or something like that!"

"But you're not old enough to join. You're only ten!"

"Fine! I'll join when I'm old enough, and until then I'll do nothing but train and I'll be the best damn crime fighter in history! Are you with me?"

"What?"

"You don't think I'd leave you out, did you?" Irving asked. "You said that if I needed anything, you'd be there. Well, be my partner! When we're older, we'll take on Team Rocket together and Liberate the world from evil! How does that sound?"

"Awesome!"

"Will you be my partner in crime fighting?" Irving said reaching his hand out.

Guy reached out his hand out and grabbed Irving's. "Yeah!"

On that day, a bond was formed that transcended time itself.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

Irving wasted no time after getting up. He quickly ate his breakfast and left for the beach. Today, he wouldn't be going out with Sophia. She was going to play with her new friend whom she met at the library the previous day. No, Irving would just be with Guy that day.

Just like the previous day, Guy was sitting on a dune, playing with the sand.

"You sure get here early, don't you?" said Irving. Guy turned around and, upon learning who spoke, got up.

"I didn't want to keep you waiting." He replied, "Besides, I don't really have anything better to do."

"So what are we going to do today?" Irving asked.

"We're going to my house today. I can show you my pokemon."

"Sounds good." Irving said "Lead on."

Irving followed Guy through the city, making light chit-chat. Eventually, they reached a small, brick building. It was only 1-floor and had a shingle roof. In front was a small grass lawn and a concrete sidewalk.

"Here we are, Irving" Guy said as he walked up to the door with Irving in tow. Guy unlocked and opened the locked wooden door.

"Hey, Mom! I'm home!" He yelled into the house as the pair of them walked through the entrance into the living room.

"Okay, Honey!" Irving heard from a far away room. Then, Irving heard someone get up and walk gradually towards Irving and Guy's location.

"Honey, how was the beach?" Guy's mother asked. Then, noticing Irving "Oh, you brought a friend."

"Yeah, Mom. This is Irving. He was the one I was with yesterday." Guy said.

"Nice to meet you, Mrs…umm…"

"Griest. Mrs. Griest." She responded. "Well, I've got to get back to work, but you boys have fun."

And just like that, Mrs. Griest left the room, leaving the two boys by themselves. Not wanting to waste time Guy walked and motioned Irving to follow.

"Come on, Irving. Let's go see my pokemon."

Irving followed Guy as he navigated his house. While the outside was mostly brick, much of the inside was made of wood: the carpet-less floor, the tables the chairs. Just about everything that could be made from wood in this house, was. Guy led him to the back door and into the backyard. Unlike the front, the backyard was spacious enough. Guy retrieved his pokeball from inside and threw it into the air.

"Go, Ralts!" He shouted. Out popped a small white pokemon with green hair with a red horn-shaped thing sticking out.

"This is my Ralts. Dad got him in Lilycove city and gave him to me for my tenth birthday." Said Guy, proudly pointing to his companion. Irving got on one knee and spoke.

"Hey there, Ralts. I'm Irving. Nice to meet you."

The Ralts spoke happily at Irving and smiled. Irving smiled in return and reached into his pocket.

"Ralts, how bout I introduce you to my pokemon?" Irving said. Ralts nodded and awaited Irving's action. Irving pulled out Togepi's pokeball and released him. Togepi sprung from his container and chirped ecstatically. Seeing a potential friend, Togepi walked over to Ralts and spoke cheerily. Sensing good intent, Ralts replied to Togepi.

"Well, they seem to be getting along well." Guy said.

"That they are." Irving replied.

They fell silent and watched their pokemon play. Eventually, Irving spoke again.

"So, You wanna battle?"

Guy was caught off-guard by this question.

"Like right now?"

"Sure. I don't see why not."

"You don't waste time, do you?"

"I was serious about my oath and you should be to, _partner_."

Irving was more serious about this than Guy thought. He sighed in defeat.

"Very well then, let's battle."

Guy and Irving got on opposite sides of the backyard; just enough room for a battle. Irving looked down at Togepi and spoke.

"You ready to go, little buddy?"

Togepi faced his trainer and replied in his usual fashion. This was not the countenance of a fighter. However, Irving had to make do with what he had. Irving look at the opposite end of yard and saw Guy's Ralts, who had shed any sort of timidity he previously had and was fired up. Irving sighed; this was going to be a short battle.

"Hey, Irving! You ready or what?" guy asked impatiently.

"Yeah, whenever you are."

"alright." Guy said, grasping a baseball in his hand. "I'm going to throw this up into the air, and when it hits the ground we'll start."

"Fine. Just start already."

Guy chucked the ball high into the air and Irving began to think.

"Crud! What does Togepi know?" Irving worried to himself. "Come on, think!"

The ball had reached its apex and was falling.

"Wait, I know!" Irving thought.

Just as the ball hit the earth, both boys' mouths opened.

"Ralts, use confusion!"

"Togepi, Flash!"

Both pokemon charged up their attacks and released them. Ralts released a blue energy burst from its hands and Togepi's "crown" blindingly illuminated the yard. Ralts's attack knocked Togepi off its feet and the light stunned Ralts.

"Togepi, are you alright?" Irving asked. However, Togepi got up quickly, having enough fight in him. Ralts recovered quickly from his blindness and readied another confusion attack.

"Togepi, dodge it!"

Togepi tried to avoid the psychic burst, but he was to slow and Ralts hit him spot on. This sent him flying back a bit.

"Crud! Togepi's slow as molasses." Irving realized.

"Alright, Ralt! Hit Togepi with confusion, again!" Guy confidently said. Togepi had barely enough time to get up before Ralts had finished charging. Having no options, Irving gave his command.

"Brace yourself, Togepi."

Togepi hunched and withdrew into his shell as Ralts shot its third blast. While spot on, the attack didn't faze Togepi like the previous ones did. This time, Togepi was ready for a counterattack. Irving grinned.

"Togepi, use sweet kiss." Irving commanded. Togepi quickly shot out an angelic heart towards Ralts, who was charging yet another confusion attack. Focusing on his energy, Ralts was unable to dodge the heart and lost his senses. The confused pokemon shot his attack, not at togepi, but into the ground.

"Hey! Watch it, Ralts! Mom's gunna be angry if you break anything!" guy yelled worriedly.

Seizing the initiative, Irving commanded Togepi once again.

"Use metronome, Togepi!" Irving said, hoping that the odds would play in his favor. Togepi's usual expression morphed into something fierce as he launched from the ground and plowed into the distracted Ralts.

"Alright, take down!" Irving exclaimed. Ralts fell to the ground, dazed and unable to fight.

"Ralts, you alright?" Guy worried as ran to his fallen pokemon's side. Ralts was awake, but clearly exhausted from the fight.

"Your attacks were too predictable, Guy." Irving commented, as he returned Togepi to it's pokeball. "I easily able to form a winning strategy around them."

Guy looked at Irving as if being scolded by a teacher.

"But honestly, I had no real idea what I was doing, either." Irving continued "Until this fight I didn't know too much about Togepi, and my winning masterstroke was pretty much based around metronome picking a good attack."

"Yeah, you read a lot about battling, so you probably would have won, anyway." Guy said.

"Perhaps, but that doesn't matter." Irving said, "What matters is that we both learned a lot from this battle."

"Umm, okay." Guy said, somewhat confused.

"If we have more battles like this and we learn as much as we learned from this battle, by the time we're older, we'll be unstoppable!" Irving explained excitedly.

Guy perked up after hearing this. "That does sound pretty awesome."

"Yeah it does." Said Irving "So how about another round?"

Looking his worn out Ralts, Guy replied "I don't think so. That battle wore him out."

"Yeah, that is a problem." Irving said "How about we just do one battle every day; does that sound good?"

"Sounds good. It'll give Ralts enough time to rest so that we can fight the next day."

"Okay, so what do you what to do now? I was thinking that we could go to the library again."

"I would go." Guy explained, "But mom wants me to help around the house since dad's away."

"Ah, bummer man." Irving said "See you tomorrow then?"

"Sure. Seeya."

Guy led Irving back to the front yard and Irving left for the library. As they parted ways, both boys happily anticipated the battles to come.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

It had been a few days since Irving's first battle with Guy. Irving made it a point to practice battling at Guy's house once a day. If he got into a routine, Irving figured he could turn Togepi into a powerful combatant with which to oppose Team Rocket. Despite his peaceful nature, Togepi was slowly becoming used to combat and soon would be fearful in his own right. With Guy and Ralts covering his back, Irving believed he could one day take on all of Team Rocket.

To further his goal, Irving spent many an hour in the library reading up on different pokemon and their battle strategies. As it turned out, an ambitious, young battler like Irving was stuck with a defense and support focused pokemon. Most of Togepi's moves inflicted status ailments, stunned the enemy, or aided allies. For now, Irving would have to make do.

Today, However, Irving didn't have time to stop by the library. For today was the first day of school, which meant that Irving would be constrained by pointless busywork. Irving was not pleased at this development. Sophia, on the other hand was ecstatic.

"Irving, I hope there'll be lots of people at our new school!" she had informed him earlier "I can't wait to meet them all!"

Guy was also somewhat happy to return to school. Most of Guy's friends from school lived farther away from him than he would have liked. Therefore, the return to school heralded a return to friends not seen. Guy said he'd introduce his friends to Irving once they got to school, but in all honesty, Irving didn't care. None of the boys that Guy described to Irving sounded the least bit interesting.

"Hey, Irving. We're here."

Irving snapped back to attention and saw Guy flanked by Sophia in front of a large brick building.

"You okay, brother?" Sophia asked.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Just spaced out."

"We'll now that we're here, how bout we go inside and meet up with my friends?" guy suggested.

"Sounds fine." Irving said, "Can't think of anything better to do."

Irving and his companions walked onto the school campus, which consisted of ground semi-covered with grass and a partially cracked concrete path towards the school's glass quadruple doors. On said campus was a vast number of students disembarking from buses and from cars. Some children were meeting up with their friends while others were tearfully parting with their parents. But for all of these children their eventually destination was those glass doors which served as a portal to a world parallel to the outside. Out of obligation to societal morays, Irving let himself be drawn to this aperture with Guy and Sophia.

The insides of the school were not the sterile whites of Vermillion's city schools, but a dingy grey. The halls were lined with rows of grey lockers, accented with brown rust. On the walls where there were no lockers hung posters with motivational phrases or espousing the virtues of good hygiene. Boys and girls ages 7 to 11 moved from hall to hall trying to find their homerooms, lockers, and old friends. Having no other friends, Irving followed Guy through the halls, while Sophia left in search of her own classroom. After a short search, Irving and Guy both located their lockers and went in search of their homeroom.

"So our homeroom teacher is a...Mrs. Gunderson" Said Irving reading the homeroom assignments on that were posted on the walls.

"Yep." Said guy "It's pretty lucky that we got the same homeroom teacher. I just hope some of my other friends got Mrs. Gunderson as well."

"Yeah." Irivng replied apathetically.

Soon enough, the duo reached room 204, which was Mrs. Gunderson's class room. It was a few minutes before homeroom, so most of the students inside were socializing with each other and waiting for the teacher to show up.

"Hey, Guy!" someone yelled from across the classroom. Irving turned toward the origin of the sound, only to see a pair of boys guy's age walking towards him.

"Oh Hey, Tom. Bobby." Guy replied.

"Long time, no see. How was summer?" the one called Bobby asked.

"It was pretty good as usual. It beats doing homework."

"Yeah, Homework is snoresville." the one called Tom commented.

"Yeah, totally. Hey, who's your friend?" Bobby asked, motioning towards Irving.

"Oh Tom, Bobby, this is Irving. He just moved here from Vermillion city over the summer."

"Hi." Irving said curtly.

"Vermillion city, huh." Bobby said. "Well, I'll let you know that Canalave is the best port town in the world, so you've got nothin' to worry 'bout. We don't got problems like them Team Rocket guys."

"I'll keep that in mind."

Just as Irving was getting sick of talking with Guy's friends, Mrs. Gunderson entered the room and silenced all with her authority.

"Good Morning, students!" She said with the forced merriment of a middle-aged school teacher. "I hope you all had a great summer! Now, Everyone settle down into your seats while I do roll call. Charles Andrews, Amy Benjamin..."

"...Julia Zimmermann. Alright, that's all of you. So how about we go around and share something fun we did this summer. So, who wants to go first?"

Bobby's hand shot into the air. "Oooo oooo, Pick me, Mrs. Gunderson!" Bobby said, bursting with enthusiasm.

"Settle down bobby, you can go first." Mrs. Gunderson said, try her best to hide her fatigue.

"Ok. Over the summer I played baseball in our local little league and got to be captain of our team." Bobby said boastfully.

"That's nice, Bobby." Mrs. Gunderson said "Is there anyone else who would like to share?"

A few hands shot into the air, fervently swaying back-and-forth. Irving abstained.

"Ok, ummm..." Gunderson said as she decided who to pick. "Jill. you go."

One of the girls in the front row of desks rose from her seat.

"I travelled to Hoenn with my mommy and daddy. We went to Lillycove City and went to the beach and we went hiking and we went shopping and-"

"That's nice." Mrs. Gunderson said indifferently, whilst cutting short Jill's rambling "Who's next?"

Guy tentatively raised his hand.

"Guy. You're up."

"Well, umm, Irving and me battled pokemon together."

"Oh, really?" she said, moving her focus towards Irving.

"Really." Irving replied, mimicing the same apathy in his teacher's voice. she was slightly taken aback by this reply, but quickly regained her composure. Many of the kids in the class were still raising their hands and trying to draw their teacher's attention.

"All right, all right. That's enough." she said, crushing the remaining students' hopes that they would be called on. "Let's get started with class already."

"The first thing we're doing today is math." Gunderson said, followed by a collective groan. "I'm going to pass out these workbooks and you all are going to do the problems that I tell you to do."

Mrs. Gunderson walked around the room and handed out the softcover paper books to each student. The Students began studiously working on the problems, with some exceptions. Bobby seemed not to really care and spent his time staring out the window or doodling and a couple other kids just faked progress. Irving on the other hand breezed through the problems. This was all review of the most basic addition and subtraction problems. Irving actually felt a little insulted that the school system thought so lowly of his intellect. With nothing else to do, Irving just visually perused his surroundings at his leisure.

Irving sat just a couple rows from the back, so as to not draw attention. He couldn't be bothered to interact with his fellow classmates, preferring to observe them from afar as he was doing then. Irving turned his attention to Guy's friend, Tom. He seemed to be doing okay on the problems assigned. Tom was pretty slow, but his style suggested his being methodical, not stupid. At least he was doing the work, which could not be said of his companion, Bobby, who preferred to doodle in the spaces between the problems than do any work. Irving could make out some of the images; there were pictures of the teachers getting maimed and killed in cartoonishly gory ways. Scribbled in the margins were phrases like "ha ha you dead teachure, I kill U ha ha".

"His parents must be so proud." Irving thought to himself. Irving's attention wandered about the room, but nothing caught his attention and, soon enough, the teacher told everyone to stop and that they would be moving on to the next subjects.

"Alright everyone, now we're going to be doing some writing." Mrs. Gunderson explained. "I want you all to write a paragraph on what you did over the summer."

The students got working on the next assignment, many with faces that said "A whole paragraph? What am I going to do? This is a fate worse than death itself." Irving didn't diddly-dally and cranked out a cursory report on the reading he did over the summer in the library. Just a few simple sentences. "Over the summer, I went to the library. I read lots of books like 'Famous Pokemon Battles'." and other such lines.

Irving put little effort into the lines that he wrote, but that paled in comparison to Bobby's dedication to giving education the middle finger. On his piece of paper were a couple of sentences were probably riddled with misspellings; it was hard to discern through the atrocious handwriting. Bobby just stared restlessly at the classroom clock, counting the minutes until lunch.

Tom also had little on his page, but not because of a lack of effort. Tom stared down at his page in frustration; he had hit writers block and was trapped. Tom didn't strike Irving as the writing type, but maybe he was just out of practice.

What caught Irving's eye at that moment was Guy; specifically, his industriousness. Guy had cranked out a page's worth of material and didn't look like he was going to stop anytime soon. Irving couldn't see what exactly Guy was writing, but he had a hunch.

"Okay kids, put your pencils down and turn in your paragraphs."

All of the students got up from their desks and put the loose-leaf pages in a sloppy pile on Mrs. Gunderson's desk. At Mrs. gunderson's beckoning they shuffled back to their desks and sat down.

"Okay kids, It's time for morning break. you've got 15 minutes. If anyone needs to go to the bathroom, it's down the hall. Otherwise, don't bother me."

The kids hastily got out of their seats and started making a ruckus. A few ran to the bathroom, while others started socializing with friends. Guy got up and started talking with Bobby and Tom. Bobby dominated the conversation with his boisterous manner of speaking. Mrs. Gunderson, wanting to avoid the little brats that she was paid to watch over, reclined in her wooden desk chair and lit a cigarette. Not really interested in joining any of the other students, went over to one of the bookshelves and pulled out a random book. "The child's guide to flying pokemon." would do for now; it could stave of boredom for 15 minutes. Irving read a few pages about Starlys and Staravias before looking up again. Guy was building with the classroom blocks along with Tom and Bobby. Irving had lost track of time, It was already 3 minutes until the next class. Noticing that he was alone and looking at him, Guy got up and walked over to Irving.

"Hey, Irving. You wanna play with the blocks with us?" Guy asked.

"Not really." Irving replied.

"Oh. Umm, okay." Guy said, dejected.

"Hey, Guy."

"Yeah?"

"What was it that you wrote about?"

"Oh, I just wrote about the battling we've been doing." Irving was not surprised in the least.

"Yeah we've battled a lot so far, haven't we?" Irving said. "We've done like 8 or 9 battles already."

"Yeah, that sounds about right. I've won 3 of them." Guy confirmed.

"Yeah, we've gotten pretty good." Irving said "We've got a ways to go, but I figure at our level, we could beat any of the kids in our class."

"That'll make battling class a lot easier for us." Said Guy.

"Yeah, but having other people to practice against is nice, even if they all turn out to be bad."

As Irving finished his statement, Mrs. Gunderson called everyone to attention. It was time for science class. All of the students were giving passages in a book to read, while the teacher worked on her second cigarette. Time moved rather quickly and It was already lunch by the time Irving finished.

"Okay kids, lunch hall's down the hall on the right; be back when the bell rings." Mrs. Gunderson instructed.

Immediately, the children formed a flash mob as they raced their way to the lunch hall. Guy, Tom, and Bobby were absorbed into said mob, while Irving lagged behind. By the time he reached the cafeteria, Irving was placed in a long line, which shuffled slowly towards the cafeteria ladies. When Irving reached them, his hungry palette was treated to macaroni and slop, the finest slop the school could afford. Having filled his tray, Irving went in search of somewhere to sit.

"Irving, over here!" He heard someone yell. He turned his head to find Sophia waving her arms to-and-fro. Irving walked over to where her sister was standing.

"What do you want, Sophia?"

"I want you to meet someone." She said, motioning to a girl to her left. "This is Sarah; she's the girl I met at the library."

Sarah didn't bother to introduce herself and avoided direct eye contact with Irving. She instead played with her long brown hair until Irving looked away.

"Ah, the shy type." Irving thought.

"We're in the same class together, isn't that cool?" Sophia said.

"Yeah, cool." Irving said "I was just going to find somewhere to sit."

"Oh. Well, Boys aren't allowed at our table." Sophia said "But... I could make an exception for you, brother."

Irving quickly scanned the room for Guy and saw him and his friends sitting at a table with a few other boys, joking with one another. Guy didn't need Irving's presence at the moment.

"Ok, I accept your offer."

"Oh, good." Sophia said, leading him by the arm. "The table's over here."

Sophia brought Irving over to a mostly full table. There were a bunch of 7-year-old girls seated, among whom was Sophia's friend Sarah. The two siblings drew the collective gaze of the table as they sat down next to each other.

"Sophia who's the _boy_?" One of the girls asked in an inquistive, almost accusatory tone.

"Rebecca... girls... this is Irving." Sophia said "He's my brother and he's a fifth-grader."

"Umm, hi." Irving said, not sure how to react to Rebecca's hostile first words. The girls all stared at him, looking him over like a pack of wild pokemon looking for prey. Irving froze in place, hoping that they couldn't see him if he didn't move. This went on for several seconds, until they all burst out giggling and went back to gossiping. Irving let out a small sigh of relief. Irving didn't think he would ever understand girls. Content that he was safe, Irving stared to dig away at his food. Bland as it was, It was still nourishing.

The Girls talked about what Irving assumed girls talked about: boys, clothing, gossip, etc. In the center of it all was his sister, Sophia. The Girls all had their time in the limelight, but it was Sophia who tied them all together and gave everyone a chance to speak. Even Sarah, as reserved as she was, seemed relaxed enough around Sophia to participate in the conversation.

Sophia was a friend to everyone. she understood how exactly to act around people her own age, something Irving couldn't quite grasp. Instead, he put up a barrier of curt phrases and emotional distance. On the other hand, Irving's politeness and relative emotional maturity meant he could interact with adults quite well. Ultimately, being the eldest in the family meant that Irving would be the one talking with adults the most. Irving figured that interacting with kids wasn't necessary to his or his sister's survival, so he didn't need those social skills. Sophia didn't have the kind of responsibilities that Irving had, so she could focus on classmate interaction at her leisure.

Irving accepted that extraordinary circumstances had made him into an adult, despite what others may have thought. To him, the survival and happiness of him and his sister took priority over whatever childish things his peers were doing. Irving bussed his tray a went back to the class room. He couldn't waste time; he had battling to study.


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

A light shone into Irving's eyes. His hand sprang to life to shield his eyes as they slowly adjusted to their surroundings.

"I should move my bed to a place where the sun doesn't shine in my eyes and wake me up." Irving thought as he groggily got out of bed and got changed. Outside of the room he could hear the ruckus that could only be made by a horde of loud children. Irving could never quite adjust to the sheer loudness that was omnipresent in the morning. He'd put up with it for now. Irving opened the door and made his way downstairs.

The Dining area was engulfed in pure chaos. Par for the course on a school day. Kids were loudly and messily eating on the giant dining table. This morning's meal seemed to consist of grain-based mush and juice. Irving cursed his refined palette and went to get breakfast. While Irving was reaching for a bowl, he heard a familiar voice.

"Good Morning, Irving." Beth said. Having Fetched the bowl, Irving turned to face her.

"Good Morning." he returned to her. "Do you know if Sophia's awake yet?"

"I haven't seen her." Beth replied. "I seen you're got breakfast under control. Do you need some food for your togepi?"

"That would be nice." Irving said. "He'll probably need extra from how much he's grown."

"Has he grown bigger?"

"Stronger. But definitely not taller." Irving corrected "I've been battling him with one of my friend."

"Oh, really?"

"Yep. I figure practice the only way he'll get good, so might as well practice in my spare time."

"Cool. Umm, I'll go get your food." Beth said and scurried off. Irving poured himself a bowl of what the caretakers insisted was oatmeal and found himself a seat a quieter end of the dining table. He had partially finished his food when he heard a voice calling him.

"Irving!" He heard Sophia yell from across the room. Irving lifted his head up to see his sister quickly approaching him with an energy that he himself could never muster at this time of day.

"Good Morning, Brother." She said with her usual grin.

"Morning, Sophia." Irving replied as she sat down across from him.

"How did you get much sleep?"

"I stayed up a little later than usual."

"School work?"

"Of Course not. Don't be ridiculous." Irving dismissed "I stayed up reading my battling books."

"Is that ALL you read about?" Sophia asked.

"Not all. I read stuff for school."

"That doesn't count, Brother!" Sophia said. "They make you do that. I mean stuff you get from the library."

Trapped by Sophia, Irving gave in. "I guess it is all I read about."

"You should read more fun stuff, Irving!" Sophia said.

"Battling is fun to read about." Irving said.

"It's all boring. You should read more story books." Sophia said. "You're supposed to read fun stuff when you aren't working."

"I don't have time to waste on kids' stories. Besides, Learning new stuff is fun."

"Whatever." Sophia said, defeated. Soon enough, Beth returned with food for their pokemon. Beth and Sophia both exchanged good mornings and then the two siblings released their pokemon. Togepi and Psyduck both sat on the floor and chowed away at their bowls of pokefood. Meanwhile, Beth returned to give Sophia a bowl of oatmeal, which she started to devour ravenously. As he slowly finished his food, Irving watched the two pokemon eat. After 2 weeks of training, the differences between Togepi and Psyduck were noticeable. Togepi was more muscular, for a Togepi at least, while Psyduck was flabby and out of shape. The fact that he could already see noticeable changes in Togepi's strength after just a couple weeks pleased Irving greatly.

After Irving finished his breakfast, he and sofia got their school things and headed out the door. Outside, there were bunches of kids from the Orphanage racing towards the school. The ground the flats that the kids ran through were well worn, but unevenly so. There was only a small percentage of the tents housing displaced persons remaining from the boatload that Irving was with. The Canalave City Hall had done an exceptional job of housing the displaced persons. Then again, the city could always use more factory workers and sailors, and a good portion of the persons were probably sent to other cities in Sinnoh.

On the outskirts of the flat, Guy stood alone, waiting for Sophia and Irving. Guy was accustomed to walking to school with the siblings, so he would wait to for them every morning outside of the orphanage.

"Good morning, Guy!" Sophia said as she ran over to him.

"Good morning, Sophia." Guy replied and turned to Irving "Hey, Irving."

"Hey." Irving said back as the trio started walking to school.

"So you ready for school?" Guy asked, barely containing his excitement.

"Today's the day we've been waiting for." Irving said "We get to put our skills to the test."

"First day of battling class. With our practice, we can't lose!" Guy stated confidently.

"We'll certainly be more prepared than anyone else." Irving confirmed.

"Is Battling all you boys talk about?" Sophia asked, slightly irked.

"What? Don't you like battling, Sophia?" Guy asked.

"I don't want to have to battle pokemon." she replied "I hate seeing psyduck or any other pokemon get hurt."

"But Sophia, the pokemon like battling." Irving countered.

"Yeah, but I have to watch them hurt each other and then take care of my pokemon after the fight." Sophia lamented. "Couldn't they do something other than fighting for fun?"

"Conflict is hardwired in to a Pokémon's psyche, Sophia." Irving explained "They've been designed to do it."

"Yeah, because Togepi was so violent even before you started battling!" Sophia retorted acerbically.

Irving recoiled slightly, as to brace himself against Sophia's words. He was aghast; Irving had never heard Sophia take that tone with anyone, especially him, before. Irving tried to reply, but the words just couldn't form. He turned to Guy, looking for some semblance of support, but Guy was silent as well. Before Irving could recover his composure, the three of them had arrived at school and Sophia stormed off, leaving Guy and Irving standing motionlessly in the middle of the school's front lawn. Eventually, the two of them regained motor functions and ambled through the school halls in a perfunctory fashion.

Guy and Irving arrived in the classroom with little fanfare. Bobby and Tom both started to chit-chat, but after Irving and Sophia's spat earlier, neither Guy nor Irving were in the mood to talk. Soon enough, classes with Mrs. Gunderson began. It was more of the same, reading stuff in books and doing problems in workbooks while Gunderson chain smoked her way to lunch.

Lunch wasn't much better; that day, it was ground beef (or so the lunch staff claimed). Irving usually made it a habit to sit at Sophia's table during lunch, but he opted to sit with Guy and the rest of the boys that day. Bobby lead the conversation with his usual bombast. Today, the boys were all psyched that they would get to battle Pokémon for the first time that year. They were all boasting about their supposed skill in this field, as boys of that age often do. Even Irving got a little into it before thoughts of his sister's words dampened his verve. But soon enough, lunch was over and Irving went to the school's arena along with his classmates. In the back of the school was two battling areas, one indoor and the other outside; Irving and class were shepherded to the outside one and on to the bleachers.

"All right kids, today will be your first day of battling this year." Mr. Jacobson, one of the school's battling coaches, said. "You all will be given a pokemon at random from the school's collection and will do a one-on-one battle with one of your fellow classmates. Once the match is over, you and your partner will swap pokemon and then find another trainer to battle until class is over. Good Luck and give it your all!"

A couple of the instructors, who also acted as referees, handed out a pokeball to each of the students. Irving checked his out as soon as he got it. Inside of the ball was a Croagunk. Just the kind of pokemon Irving wanted, a fighting-type. Not that he'd get to use it much, but it still was fortunate. Seeing the rest of the class, sorting themselves out Irving decided follow suit and find someone to battle with. Soon enough, he felt a tap on his shoulder.

"Hey, Irving." Irving turned around and saw Julia Zimmermann facing him. "Want to battle with me?"

"Sure." That certainly solved his problem. The two of them moved to a field where no one was fighting and prepared themselves. One of the teachers came over to act as a referee. Both Trainers released their pokemon.

"Go, Croagunk!"

"Go, Buizel!" Julia's water-type stared eagerly at Croagunk, awaiting it's trainer's command. Irving smirked. The battle was already won for him.

"Okay, both of you." the referee said, attracting their attention. "When I said 'go', both of you start."

"Ready..." Irving and Julia focused, both anticipating the fight. "...Go!"

The duel started and Irving drew first.

"Croagunk, poison jab!" Irving ordered quickly and confidently. Croagunk charged Buizel, his hand glowing purple. Hastily, Julia ordered a counterattack.

"Buizel, use water gun!"

"Follow through, Buizel!" Irving responded. Buizel unleashed a jet of water, which Croagunk charged right through. Croagunk then struck Buizel with its glowing fist, knocking it off its feet.

"excellent, Croagunk's dry skin made him immune to Buizel's water gun." Irving thought.

"Ahh, buizel!" Julia yelled as Buizel struck the ground. "

"Good, Croagunk. Now Follow up with a faint attack." Irving ordered.

"Buizel, get up and use tackle!" Julia said, panicking. By the time Buizel got up off the ground, Croagunk struck again. Unable to take two strong hits in a row, collapsed on the ground.

"Buizel is unable to battle! Irving is the winner!" the referee declared. Irving smiled lightly and returned Croagunk to his ball.

"Buizel!" Julia said, running over to her pokemon's side. Buizel looked at her, still concious, but unable to fight.

"It's okay, Buizel. You did a good job." Julia assured the wounded pokemon.

"You deserve a rest." she said as she returned Buizel to its ball. She then walked over to Irving, who was waiting for her.

"Wow, you're pretty good at this stuff, Irving." Julia complemented him.

"Yeah, Well I do get a lot of practice." Irving replied.

"Well, you did beat me pretty quickly." Julia replied. "You battled so fast that I couldn't even react. Buizel first attack didn't work and you beat me soon after."

"Well, Croagunk's dry skin basically made your water attacks useless. So the cards were stacked against you from the start." Irving explained.

"Oh, well, that makes me feel a bit better."

"Now, if I were fighting with buizel, I'd want to take advantage of his much faster speed to avoid attacks and hit hard. I'd have buizel constantly moving to ranges where he'd have the advantage." Irving Tutored.

"You study this stuff a lot, don't you."

"Yep." Irving replied succinctly as the two of them arrived at a healing station. The two off them gave the pokeballs to the teacher running the station, who proceeded to put them in large machine. Julia and Irving made light chit-chat with each other for about five minutes before the machine finished. They both exchanged pokemon and went off to find another partner. After a short time, Irving Stumbled upon a familiar face.

"Hey, Tom." Irving said. "You want to battle with me?"

"Sure." he replied. The two of them made their way to an empty field with a referee.

"Go, Buizel." Irving said

"Go, snivy."

Crap. Things were not looking good for Irving.

"Ready..." Irving prepared his opening move. "...Go!"

"Snivy, use vine whip!" and "Buizel, use agility!" rang out almost simultaneously. Snivy charged Buizel, attempting to strike with its glowing tail, but Buizel accelerated out of the way.

"Snivy is fast, so Buizel will have to be even faster." Irving thought.

"Buizel, use sonic boom!" Irving commanded. Buizel quickly stopped and shot a soundwave at Snivy, stunning it.

"Snivy, counter with vine whip!"

"Dodge with agility." Leaf Tornado's charge time gave Buizel an opening, which he used to escape, dodging Snivy's grass blast.

As Buizel maneuvered, Irving ordered Buizel to strike a second time. "Sonic boom, again!"

"Leaf tornado, while he's charging!" Tom said. As Buizel stopped to attack, Snivy charged and released a leaf tornado, striking Buizel directly. Buizel fell to the ground, unable to recover from the super effective hit.

"Buizel is unable to battle; snivy wins!"

"Damn." Irving cursed to himself, running over to Buizel.

"You did your best, given the circumstances." Irving reassured Buizel. "Too bad you had to lose twice, though."

"Good job, Irving." Tom said. "you were pretty good. Although, I had the advantage of training outside of school, so it should be expected that I would win."

Irving chuckled at Tom's statement. Did he even pay attention on the first day of class? "You also had type advantage."

"Yeah, I guess I did." Tom admitted. The Two of the went back to one of the heal machines and then exchanged pokemon.

It was getting late in the day; Irving figured he only had time for one more battle before class was over. Knowing this, Irving sought out someone who he knew would give him a challenge. And that person was searching for a partner.

"Hey, Guy!" Irving yelled. Upon hearing his name called, Guy made his way over to Irving.

"Hey, Irving. I'm guessing you want to battle."

"Yep." Irving replied, as the two of them made their way over to an empty field. Both trainers released their pokemon, Snivy on Irving's side and Whismir on Guy's side.

"Ready..." Both boys tensed up, anticipating each other's moves. "...Go!"

"Snivy, Leaf Tornado!"

"Whismir, supersonic!"

Both Pokemon obeyed their trainer's commands. Snivy fired a swirl of leaves at Whismir, who in turn, released a high pitched sound. Both moves hit their marks, Whismir was knocked back and Snivy was disoriented by the sound.

"Crap. Can't let Snivy attack in his current condition." Irving thought.

"Snivy, stay still with coil." Irving ordered. The Confused Snivy, unable to properly co-ordinate his movements, just coiled up into a ball on the ground.

"Oh, no you don't, Irving! Whismir, use screech!" Guy ordered. Whismir created a loud sound burst which startled Snivy.

"That Screech is aggravating Snivy's confusion." Irving thought. "Guy's trying to fight a battle where I can't attack."

"Now, Whismir, use astonish!"

"Use leech seed, Snivy." Irving commanded. Irving knew full well that Snivy would have to take the hit. Might as well have Snivy prepare a retaliatory attack. Whismir charged Snivy, and not even his being coiled could prevent astonish from knocking him away. Somewhat able to react, Snviy threw leech seeds at Whismir, while he was recuperating from his attack.

"Good. Even if Snivy is tired, I just have to draw out the battle until Snivy has the strength advantage." Irving schemed.

"Whismir, use stomp!" Guy yelled, hoping to end the battle with a follow up attack. Whismir charged Snivy, prepared to crush it underfoot.

"Dodge, Snivy, and counter with Mega Drain!" Irving ordered. Snivy nimbly dodged Whismir's attack, and released a mega drain. Green energy poured out of Whismir and into Snivy.

"Whismir, Mimic his mega drain!" Guy quickly ordered. Green energy began to leave Snivy and come back to Whismir.

"Clever move, Guy, but Whismir's drain isn't as powerful as Snivy's, and Leech seed still tip's the battle in my favor." Irving thought.

"Snivy, let's end this already! Use magical leaf!" Irving commanded. Snivy ordered a burst of fast, accurate glowing leaves aimed straight at Whismir.

Much to Irving's suprise, Guy reacted. "Whismir, Incinerate!" Whismir breathed a small hot fireball from its mouth, reducing the leaves to ashes in an instant.

"You just don't know when to give up, do you, Guy?" Irving remarked. Guy smiled determinedly at Irving. Despite his good dodge, Whismir was worn out from the leech seeds and the exertion of battle. He collapsed on the ground.

"Whismir is unable to battle; snivy wins!"

"You tried your best, Whismir." Guy said as he returned his pokemon to its container. Irving followed suit.

"We did pretty well, didn't we?" Guy said. "I'm certainly impressed."

"Yeah, that was one of our best battles yet." Irving replied. "I think haven't different pokemon meant that we couldn't rely on the patterns of previous battles to win."

"Wow, that was some fight." said a voice from the side lines. Guy and Irving turned to see Tom walking over to them.

"I sorely underestimated both of your battling skills." Tom admitted. "From the looks of it, you both must have trained over the summer."

"Umm, duh, Tom. I only told the class during the first day of school, after all." Guy said in a mocking tone.

"Hey, cut me some slack." Tom said. "Mrs. Gunderson is really boring, so you can't blame me for spacing out."

"Yeah, I guess so." Guy replied.

"By the way, do you and Irving still battle after school?" Tom asked.

"Yeah, why'd you ask?" Guy said.

"Because I want to battle with you two." Tom explained "I like battling and thought battling with the both of you would be lots of fun."

"I don't mind at all." Guy said "Do you, Irving?"

"I'm cool with it. We need more people to train with anyway." Irving said. "Hey, Tom. We usually train on weekends, but sometimes after school, too."

"I'll see you then!"

"And we will wait."


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

After long period of waiting, the weekend finally came. Just like any other child, Irving loved the weekend. It meant for him that he would get a short reprise from the tedium that filled his school days. But this weekend was special; Guy's friend Tom from school had agreed to meet up with them at a local park, where Irving and Guy usually battled without having to worry about property damage. Normally, Irving wouldn't have allowed any other classmates to come with them to their private dueling grounds. Tom was an exception to this rule; he already had his own Pokémon and had battled a few times with it. Tom hadn't arrived yet, despite the clear instructions to arrive at 10 O'clock exactly.

Unlike Tom, Irving had been early to arrive. Irving understood the importance of being punctual to his weekly battling session. However, to be honest, that wasn't the reason why Irving showed up early. He left the orphanage earlier because he didn't want to deal with his sister. After their little spat earlier in the week, Irving and Sophia weren't on the best of terms. Irving decided that keeping Sophia at a distance until it all blew over was for the best.

After 10 minutes of waiting, Tom finally showed up.

"Hey, Tom." Guy greeted. "I was wondering when you were going to get here."

"We did set it at 10 for a reason." Irving informed Tom.

"Sorry about that. I got a little lost on the way here." Tom explained.

"That's okay. It's alright as long as you're here." Said Guy "So, Let's see your Pokémon already!"

"Alright. Come on out, Shellos!" Tom yelled throwing his pokeball into the air. Crying out in excitement, Tom's Shellos came forth from pokeball's bright light. His Pokémon was a pink blob-like Pokémon with a white underside and a pink growths on its head that together resembled something like a crown. Because of its pink color, Irving instantly knew that it was caught locally, as Shellos from the west side of Mt. Coronet were all pinkish.

"My dad caught Shellos for me at the beginning of summer cuz I got good grades that year. I've been training him ever since; I've beaten just about everyone our age _and_ a few of the 6th graders." Guy explained proudly, with his arms cross and while wearing an arrogant grin that frankly irked Irving.

"Well then, if you are as skilled as you say you are, then you'll have no problem taking me on." Challenged Irving, who wanted to wipe that shit-eating grin off of Tom's face. Tom unable to refuse a challenge to his dignity, enthusiastically accepted.

"You're going down, Irving." Tom smack-talked to Irving.

"Go, Togepi." Irving said ignoring Tom's statement. Togepi came forth from the light, ready for combat once again.

Tom took one look at Togepi and laughed.

"Pfffffhahahahha! Oh, Irving, hahaha! Oh Arceus!" Tom guffawed. "You're fighting me with that?"

"Yeah, real mature." Irving thought. He had the advantage, anyway. He planned to take the fight seriously.

"Ha. Okay. Let's go, Shellos." Tom said, wiping the tears from his eyes. Both trainers readied themselves. When the time was right, the both struck.

"Togepi, Flash!" Irving commanded.

"Shellos, water pulse!" Tom ordered.

Using the opening that he had practiced numerous times, Togepi quickly emitted a blinding light from his head. Not expecting a sensory overload, Shellos clenched his eyes shit and flinched.

"Come on, Shellos! Water pulse!" Tom yelled.

"Togepi, quickly, use echoed voice!" Irving ordered. Echoed voice wasn't exactly powerful, but it was one of the few damaging moves that Togepi knew. Togepi's slow movement meant that blitzing the enemy with physical attacks was out of the question. Irving knew this and made a strategy for Togepi: harass the opponent with status and support moves, and then follow up with ranged attacks.

Shellos, now able to see again, shot a burst of water just as soon as Togepi released its sonic emission. Due to the accuracy on both sides, the two attacks collided midair, negating Togepi's attack and spraying water harmlessly all over him.

"Togepi, use echoed voice a second time!"

"Using that attack again? Shellos, shoot it down again with water pulse!" Tom ordered, ignorant of Irving strategy.

Both attacks were unleashed once again. Tom realized the difference between the first scenario immediately. Togepi's attack charged at the same speed, but combined the power of the previous attack with the new one. When the water and sound collided again, the sound won out, blasting Shellos with Togepi's powerful vocals.

Irving smirked. Ah, the benefits of a little research. While Tom was ignorant of Echoed voice's properties, as if the name didn't explain the move enough, Irving knew Shellos' move set thoroughly. It was, after all, a very common local species of Pokémon. Tom, on the other hand, looked shocked that the tide had turned in Irving's favor.

"Errr, Shellos, use mud bomb." Tom ordered, changing his strategy.

"Togepi, echoed voice, once again." Irving ordered. He figured the sheer power of a 3rd echoed voice would blast Shellos hard. His thoughts were soon confirmed. The Ball of mud launched at Togepi was shattered by his powerful sound wave, causing the mud to exploded mid-air and coat Togepi. Meanwhile, the thrice-echoed voice shot at Shellos and knocked him over with its blast force.

"Shellos!" Tom exclaimed worriedly as Shellos struggled to get up, having taking significant damage.

"Good job, Togepi, now quickly wipe the mud off!" Irving said. The mud impaired Togepi and Irving needed Togepi ready to go before-

"Shellos, use Recover!" Tom ordered to his worn out Pokémon.

-that happened. This was going to be a long fight.

"Change of strategy, Togepi!" Irving yelled at Togepi, who was still wiping down his body. "Use toxic, immediately!"

Tom's shock was flagrant as Togepi spat a gob of foul poison at the exhausted sea slug. Knowing that Togepi's advantages came from its great stalling ability, Irving taught Togepi how to poison its opponents. Shellos might have been able to keep up with Togepi before, but the impact of the poisonous liquid sealed Shellos' fate. No amount of recovering could suppress the compound damage of a toxic attack.

"Shellos, shoot Togepi with your most powerful water pulse!" Yelled Tom, not even attempting to hide his panic.

"Togepi, take the hit, then use wish!" Irving countered.

Togepi braced for the hit by retreating into its shell partially as Shellos summoned the necessary water from it innards. A second later, Shellos spewed forth a large water ball that walloped Togepi, violently washing the mud from Togepi's shell. Togepi was knock squarely on his back, still entrenched in its now clean shell. Togepi picked himself up relatively quickly, despite the powerful trauma. What Togepi was doing afterward, worried Irving. Togepi's upper body gyrated as if Togepi was dazed from the concussive blast.

"Ahhh, crap." Irving thought. "Togepi's not going to make the wish, is he."

"Shellos, use muddy water!" Tom yelled, hoping for a second hit.

"Togepi, watch out!" Irving yelled. The tired Shellos used what strength it had to summon its attack. He released wave of putrid brown water. Togepi, unable to coordinate his own movement, took the full force of the vile wave, knocking him back and coating him with a thin brown film.

"Togepi!" Irving yelled, concerned for his Pokémon's safety. "Are you okay?"

Togepi slowly rose off the ground, weak from the battering, but no longer confused. Togepi breathed in and out slowly and loudly as the brown water dripped off of him.

"Crap, Togepi can't attack in this state." Irving thought.

"Shellos, finish Togepi off with water pulse!" Tom commanded, excitedly awaiting his victory. Shellos tried to summon water to his mouth, but was breathing as heavily as Togepi was.

"Shellos, what are you waiting for?!" Tom yelled at Shellos. "Finish him off!"

"Toxic has taken its toll." Irving thought, relieved. "Now, I just have to wait."

"Togepi, use protect when Shellos attacks." Irving calming told his Pokémon.

Eventually, Shellos was able to muster fluids from his body, which he spat at Togepi. Togepi, prepared by Irving's instructions, blocked it with an ethereal barrier. After the water broke harmlessly on Togepi's wall, Shellos succumbed to toxic's effects and collapsed.

"Shellos, no!" Tom yelled at his unconscious Pokémon. Tom returned Shellos, dejected by his loss. Irving picked up Togepi's wet and muddy body and cradled it in his arms. Togepi was barely conscious and quickly fell asleep in Irving's arms. Irving looked up in front of him and saw an angry and teary-eyed Tom. Before either Guy or Irving could say anything, Tom stormed off, leaving them both stunned.

"You know, Guy, I was expecting that he'd be able to take a loss." Irving told Guy.

"Yeah, sorry about that." Guy apologized "He's been super competitive ever since he started battling."

"Yeah. I should get Topegi to the Pokémon Center." Irving said. "Sorry that you didn't get to battle."

"It's alright, we've got plenty more times to battle." Guy responded. "How about Tomorrow?"

"Same time, same place." Irving replied, walking off with Togepi "Seeya."

"Bye."

The nearest Pokémon Center was only a short walk away from the park, which was another reason why Irving chose the park to battle at. Normally, they didn't need to use the Pokémon Center, but the battle with Tom was especially fierce. Guy and Irving's sparing sessions usually weren't especially violent. Sure, they didn't hold back and sometimes they made use of Pokémon Center's free healing services, but at the end of most of the battles their Pokémon were at least conscious, if not still able to stand. Their battles turned into an exchange of energy attacks and debilitating support moves. One time, neither Irving's nor Guy's Pokémon were actually hurt in combat; they were just worn out by the sheer number of attacks they used.

Eventually, Irving reached the giant domed Pokémon Center and walked in through the automatic double doors. Irving walked on to the tan tiled floor and saw the unusual center sights. There were trainers from all over Sinnoh, chatting and eating at the various tables in the lounge area. Nurses hurried in and out of the lobby, taking care of various Pokémon. Irving walked up to the counter and interacted with the nurse who was on duty.

"Excuse me, miss. Could you heal my Pokémon?" Irving asked. The Nurse peered over the counter to assess the situation.

"Oh, dear. Your togepi looks pretty hurt." she said. "Hand over your Togepi to me and we should be able to have him on his feet in an hour or two."

Compliant, Irving gave Togepi to the Nurse, who passed it to another nurse who took it into the back of the Pokémon Center. Realizing that he'd be there for a while, Irving picked up a copy of the Canalave Times. By the time Irving read the newspaper in its entirety, it had already been almost two hours and a nurse came out with Togepi.

"Your Togepi should be fine." The nurse explained. "We hope to see you again!"

Irving returned Togepi to his pokeball, relieved that Togepi was okay and strangely amused by the nurse's wish to see him at Pokémon hospital again. With Togepi's pokeball attached to his belt, Irving exited. As he left the Pokémon center, Irving saw something unexpected. Standing on the concrete outside of the Pokémon center was Sophia, with her arms crossed, glaring at Irving.

"Sophia, what are you doing here?" Irving asked " I thought you were at-"

"Irving!" Sophia yelled at Irving in a bold and authoritative manner "What are you doing at the Pokémon Center?"

"Sophia..." Irving said, stunned by his sister's outburst "What are you doing here?"

"You've been Pokémon battling, again!" Sophia accused.

"Yeah, sure, I have." Irving said. "I've been doing this for a while."

"But you're never out here! You're never this late." Sophia said. "I was worried."

"It's okay, Sophia." Irving reassured her. "Togepi got roughed up today and needed some rest."

"Roughed up?!" Sophia yelled. "You've been gone for three hours! You're never gone this long unless something bad happened."

"The Pokémon Center took care of Togepi. He's fine." Irving said. "He's used to this sort of training anyway."

"How can you hurt your Pokémon like this, Irving?!" Sophia yelled. "Togepi's a living being. You have to take care of him."

"I do, Sophia, he's fully healed." Irving said tersely "I can take care of my Pokémon perfectly well. This is all part of training. I'm training because some day I'm going to fight Team Rocket and I need to be as strong as possible. Don't you want me to beat Team Rocket?"

"NO!" Sophia yelled, with tears bursting from her tear ducts. Unable to form coherent sentences, Sophia ran to Irving and started beating on his chest, crying loudly. Sophia's assault quickly broke down and she hugged him tightly, burying her head in his moistening shirt. Sophia tried to talk, but she was handicapped by her bawling.

"Stop it, Irving." Sophia begged into his torso, sobbing the whole time. "Just stop it. Please."

"Your changing Irving." Sophia explained. "You're changing too much. You're not acting like yourself. You're not acting like my brother; your acting like mom or dad."

Irving, surprised, took in this new information. "You've been distant. You've acting too much like an adult. You're not an adult, Irving. You've been taking care of me and Togepi, whose been taking care of yourself. You're not acting normal. You're scaring me."

Irving gripped his sister tighter. "Please, Irving. We've already lost mommy and daddy to Team Rocket. I don't want to lose you too either. I'm afraid, Irving. I'm afraid that you'll leave me and get yourself killed. Please don't leave. Please don't leave, Irving!" Sophia cried out in desperation.

"Please..." She whimpered. Irving continued to hold his sister tight; as much out of love as out of confusion. Irving wasn't prepared for this. He'd no idea what to do. He couldn't stop his training; it was imperative that he stop Team Rocket. But on the other hand, as head of the family, it was his responsibility to take care of his sister. When he'd eventually go off to fight Team Rocket, He could bring his sister along. She can't fight and Irving could bear the loss of his only sister.

"Don't worry, Sophia." Irving said in a calm reassuring voice. "When I go back to Kanto, I won't leave you behind."

"Liar."

Irving sighed. Sophia wasn't easy to trick.

"Irving." Sophia said.

"Yes."

"Take me with you."

"I can't take you with me. Who will protect you?" Irving explained. "I certainly won't be able to. You'll hold me back."

"Who'll protect me here?" Sophia asked "Do you think you can leave me here by myself?"

"There's the orphanage. You can live there. I'm sure they can find you a home."

"It's not the same, Irving. I just want to be with you." Sophia said. "Please take me with you."

"But I can't protect you."

"Then I'll protect myself!" Sophia insisted.

"But you can't fight. And you hate it anyway."

"I'd rather fight than be alone!" Sophia said in tears again "I'll train with you. Just don't leave me. Please, Irving."

Irving sighed. His sister was a handful. But seeing her like this made Irving miserable and clearly she wasn't going to give in.

"Alright, Sophia." Irving Conceded. "You can come with us. But you have to train hard. And I don't want you complaining about the fighting."

"I won't."

"Okay then." Irving said. "We start at 10 in the morning on weekends. So make sure you're ready."

Irving certainly wasn't expecting this to happen. He wasn't sure that Sophia would be able to battle that well. She'd probably just quit after a day or two. Getting yelled at by his younger sister was something he wanted to avoid having to deal with in the future, though, so he could humor her. He doubted it would happen, but deep down, Irving hoped that Sophia would actually be good at battling. Well he'd just have to wait to find out.


	9. author's note

Hey Y'all!

Spah, here. I got good news and bad news.

The Bad news is that I'm cancelling this story. The good news is that I'm remaking it, so go check that shit out!

Seeya!


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